‘Odisha's organic farming can be worth Rs 23,000 cr in 5 years’

Optimistic that promotion of organic farming could lead to wealth accumulation of about Rs 23,000 crore in Odisha, industry body Assocham today said it had the potential to create about 80 lakh jobs in five years.

Promotion of organic farming could generate about 60 lakh jobs in the State apart from creating additional 20 lakh job if on-farm storing, processing, value addition, packaging and marketing facilities were included, National Secretary-General of Assoham, D.S. Rawat told reporters here.

Organic farms provided over 30 per cent more jobs per hectare as against non-organic farms, Rawat said, adding these facts came to light in a study titled ‘Organic Odisha: Inching towards Organic Farming,’ released by Assocham.

“Besides, promotion of organic farming in Odisha can lead to wealth accumulation of about Rs 23,000 crore and generate exports of Rs 600 crore during the next five years,” he said quoting the study.

Adoption of organic farming could increase the net per capita income of a farmer in the State by 250 per cent to over Rs 10,500 in five years from a meagre Rs 3,000 currently, Rawat said.

Stating that it would also arrest migration of people from Odisha for jobs, he said of the total organically certified area of 1.7 lakh hectares across the country, the State had the maximum area of over 26,300 hectare followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 22,316 hectare.

He said Odisha has a huge share in global organic exports from about 0.2 per cent to about 2.5 per cent by 2017.

The State also had the potential of being the country’s export hub for certified organic food to different world markets.

In its study, Assocham suggested that organic agriculture be recognised and integrated in main policies of the Central government such as those on agriculture, food, health and environment

India to reach solar market potential of 12,500MW by 2016-17

With solar PV capacity rising from under 20MW to more than 1,000MW in two years, all eyes are turned towards India. The latest energy report from KPMG, The Rising Sun, predicts that India has a solar market potential of 12,500MW, calculated to be reached by 2016-17.

India currently has a power deficit of 9%, expected to continue its steady increase over the next few years. This has generated net losses of INR88,170 crores this year.

Author of the KMPG report, Arvind Mahajan, insists that, “To realize this, utilities and regulators should create an enabling environment recognizing the specific characteristics of solar power.”

However, The Hindu Business Line cannot envisage an Indian solar future because of the radio silence surrounding Phase II of the National Solar Mission, which was due to be announced this July.

KPMG states that the captive and REC market has the potential of reaching 2,500MW by 2016-17. Despite this, The Hindu Business Line argues that these electricity distribution companies, which are driven by renewable purchase obligations, have become bankrupt entities. The publication contends that there is no “evidence of the various electricity regulatory commissions enforcing the obligation”.

Mahajan puts the onus on the central and state government to provide the necessary support to the solar industry over the next five years, “to realize the immense potential solar power offers for an energy starved country like India”.

The Hindu Business Line suggests raiding the coffers of the National Clean Energy Fund in order to be able to offer FiTs on the same scale as those available in Japan. KPMG is in agreement: “This financial assistance can help states support solar power and mitigate payment security concerns.”

Additionally, KMPG recommends the Indian government should provide “infrastructural support, appropriate regulations such as “banking facility” or “net-metering” to allow access to rooftop and small-scale solar power projects which is expected to reach parity before grid-level consumers.”

Furthermore, KPMG’s report helps to instil a little faith in the Indian government because it has proposed the creation of a number of National Manufacturing & Investment Zones (NMIZ) to boost growth of the manufacturing industry in India. “The concept of NMIZ proposes a framework for more business friendly policy, procedures and approval ecosystem, combined with superior physical infrastructure,” states Mahajan. He believes this could be used as a model for a solar industry focused manufacturing and investment zones to “encourage investments in this clean source of energy”.

All legislative proposals need financial backing to make them concrete, however, The Hindu Business Line writes, “The government does not have money”. Unfortunately, without appropriate remuneration, KPMG’s optimistic predictions for a rising sun in India may not come to fruition.

Shoppers Stop turns to solar power to avoid service tax on electricity

"The company is trying to rework power consumption as mall owners and retailers will have to pay 12.5%service tax on electricity with effect from July this year according to a recent government notification," Govind Shrikhande, managing director at Shoppers Stop, says. "The difference between solar power cost and our power bill will be minimal after the new tax." The country's largest department store chain paid over Rs 70 crore on power bills last year.

While Shoppers Stop plans to use solar power at its four stand-alone stores, many other retailers and mall owners are looking for ways to lower energy usage to limit the impact of the new tax.

Dubai-based Landmark Group's departmental store chain Lifestyle, for example, plans to install energy saving lighting systems in its stores.

"There has been pressure on the profit and overall markets since few years now. Imposing taxes like this puts retailers under pressure at the wrong point of time," Kabir Lumba, managing director at Lifestyle International, says.

Mumbai-based Oberoi Mall is mulling various alternative fuel options. "Even water consumption is taxed. Hence, we started rain-water harvesting which has cut costs significantly," Nirzar Jain, vice-president at Oberoi Mall, says.

Retailers also plan to take up the issue with the government as the new tax is imposed at a time when consumer sentiment is down and companies' profitability is under severe pressure.

"When retailers are paying service tax on costs such as rentals and electricity, it should be ideally adjusted in sales tax. But retailers eventually will end up paying both sales and service tax," says Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive of Retailers Association of India, a 400-member strong industry body. "It's a huge concern for a business that makes a net profit of just 3% on an average," he adds.

If the levy is brought in after the start of GST, retailers would be able to avail of the setoff of service tax paid against the VAT liability on sale of goods, Rajagopalan says.

Electricity is the third most expense for retailers after salaries and rent.

Recently, credit rating agency Fitch revised the outlook for Indian retail sector to negative from stable for the first half of the fiscal, saying same-store sales growth slipped across lifestyle and value-based formats in the quarter ended June. Last year, retailers had challenged the government's move to impose a service tax on commercial rentals but failed to secure a relief.

Simple Ways to Live Sustainably

Earth Hour 2010 Official video

Environmental Tips - How to Go Green

Global Warming 101

Rahul Bose goes green

What is Waste Management???

Waste management is a collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All wastes materials, whether they are solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management.

Waste management practices can differ for developed and developing nations, for urban andrural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management for non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international controls.

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, a necessary precondition for the well-being of humans and other organisms. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems.

Healthy ecosystems and environments provide vital resources and processes (known as "ecosystem services"). There are two major ways of managing human impact on ecosystem services. One approach is environmental management; this approach is based largely on information gained from educated professionals in earth science, environmental science, andconservation biology. Another approach is management of consumption of resources, which is based largely on information gained from educated professionals in economics.

Human sustainability interfaces with economics through the voluntary trade consequences of economic activity. Moving towards sustainability (or applied sustainability while keeping the quality of life high is a social challenge that entails, among other factors, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from controlling living conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), to reappraising work practices (e.g., using permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or developing and using new technologies that reduce the consumption of resources such as renewable energy technologies.

How Social Media used for going to "GREEN WORLD" ?

10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media

1. Take Social Actions

2. Twitter with a Purpose

3. Visit White House 2.0

4. Claim your Zumbox

5. Host a Social Media Event

6. Travel the World

7. Build It on Drupal

8. Green Your iPhone

9. Unite the World Through Video

10. Rate a Company

Land Degradation

The land and soil face many difficulties like deforestation, erosion, flooding, water logging, urbanization and salination. Around 33 percent of the land is going to be wasted at the end of this century. Soil Erosion is more common in the Australia, India, Spain, U.S.A and Africa. The air and water erosion affects around 40 thousand hectares of land in a year. The top soil lost is the maximum. It makes around 20 percent of the total loss. Our country has the largest livestock and it leads to more of grazing. It leads to the soil erosion. The erosion is prevented by the crop rotation, mulching which leads to decrease in the evaporation and increase in the absorption, presence of suitable outlet channels which can carry the water, sowing of certain crops which check the erosion and include the grasses, groundnut, pulses and berseem. 
The planting of tress also checks the erosion. The control on grazing and the terracing of lands which decrease the speed of water also keeps a check on the erosion. The contour bunding has an ability to hold the rain water and control erosion. The burn agriculture along with the slash is quite common in the tribal areas. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and Asia. The tress is cut and is burnt and the crops are raised on the ash formed. This phenomenon is known as jhuming and it occurs in the jhum forests in the north east India. The process is not useful as the jhuming is done frequently. The water jhuming is done in less than a decade and it destroys the forest and lead to soil erosion. 
Soil erosion affects farming in detrimental ways. Physical damage is the most visible form of soil loss, and most likely to be remedied. Gravity pulls constantly at soil, nudging it down hill, causing soil slips, earth clips, cracks, creep and slumps. Ironically, the most damaging of rainfall is the impact with which water droplets hit the soil. From there on, the flow of water causes sheet-wash, rilling, surface gullying, tunneling and in rivers it scours banks. In dry climates, wind blow is the main cause of erosion. Soil Conservation is a set of methods and procedures which are adopted for prevention of soil being eroded from the earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse or salinization or acidification. The main methodology of soil conservation are improvement of the choice of vegetative cover, soil erosion prevention, salinity management, to augment the health of beneficial soil organisms and stopping of soil contamination. Soil conservation if of utmost importance for a country like India which is mainly has an agricultural economy. A large part of India’s population depends on the soil for their livelihood and hence soil erosion and the measures of soil conservation taken up to prevent Soil erosion are of key concern for the Indian government.  

Water Crisis

The water you drink today has likely been around in one form or another since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, hundreds of millions of years ago.

While the amount of freshwater on the planet has remained fairly constant over time—continually recycled through the atmosphere and back into our cups—the population has exploded. This means that every year competition for a clean, copious supply of water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and sustaining life intensifies.

Water scarcity is an abstract concept to many and a stark reality for others. It is the result of myriad environmental, political, economic, and social forces.

Freshwater makes up a very small fraction of all water on the planet. While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields. In essence, only 0.007 percent of the planet's water is available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people.

Due to geography, climate, engineering, regulation, and competition for resources, some regions seem relatively flush with freshwater, while others face drought and debilitating pollution. In much of the developing world, clean water is either hard to come by or a commodity that requires laborious work or significant currency to obtain.

Ocean Dumping

ollution of the open seas by human activities has become a serious problem. Ocean dumping is the dumping or placing of materials in designated places in the ocean, often on the continental shelf. A wide range of materials is involved, including garbage, construction and demolition debris, sewage sludge, dredge material, and waste chemicals. In some cases, ocean dumping is regulated and controlled, while some dumping occurs haphazardly by ships and tankers at sea, or illegally within coastal waters. Incineration at sea of organic wastes, with subsequent dumping, has been allowed as a viable disposal process, both in the United States and in Europe.

An important, but little recognized source of ocean dumping is the elimination of bilge water from tankers carrying oil and other products. Bilge water can contain a number of toxic chemicals, as well as biological agents that can affect marine ecosystems and marine organisms, some of which are subsequently consumed by humans. Dumping of radioactive wastes and soil from contaminated nuclear defense sites has periodically been suggested as a viable disposal method, and canisters of nerve gas have been disposed of at sea. In addition to permitted ocean dumping, there is always the possibility of collisions, groundings, and accidents that result in de facto ocean dumping, often of materials not otherwise allowed.

At one time, drums containing hazardous waste were dumped, but the disintegration of canisters caused sufficient concern to halt this process. Some of the drums containing hazardous chemicals were dumped in shallow seas, such as the North Sea, that are intensely fished, creating a potential risk to humans from the consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.

There are three main direct public health risks from ocean dumping: 

(1) occupational accidents, injuries, and exposures; 

(2) exposure of the public to hazardous or toxic materials washed up on beaches; and 

(3) human consumption of marine organisms that have been contaminated by ocean disposal. 

Periodically, medical and other wastes from both legal and illegal dumping have washed up on beaches, resulting in exposure to beachgoers and, in some cases, the closure of beaches until the wastes could be removed. Consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated from radioactive wastes may pose a serious problem worldwide because of nuclear waste dumping in the oceans.

Marin Debris

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea,ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and oncoastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is calledocean dumping.

Some seeming forms of marine debris, such as driftwood, occur naturally, and human activities have been discharging similar material into the oceans for thousands of years. Recently however, with the increasing use of plastic, human influence has become an issue as many types of plastics do not biodegrade. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish, seabirds, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, as well as to boats and coastal habitations.Ocean dumping, accidental container spillages, litter washed into storm drains, and wind-blown landfill waste are all contributing to this problem.

Researchers classify debris as either land or ocean-based; in 1991, the United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution estimated that up to 80% of the pollution was land-based. 

The Indian Ocean Garbage Patch, discovered in 2010, is a gyre of marine litter suspended in the upper water column of the central Indian Ocean, specifically the Indian Ocean Gyre, one of the five major oceanic gyres.The patch does not appear as a continuous debris field. As with other patches in each of the five oceanic gyres, the plastics in it break down to ever smaller particles, and to constituent polymers.

Bright Green Environmentalism

Bright green environmentalism is an ideology based on the belief that the convergence of technological change and social innovation provides the most successful path to sustainable development.

The term "bright green", first coined in 2003 by writer Alex Steffen, refers to the fast-growing new wing of environmentalism, distinct from traditional forms. 

Its proponents tend to be particularly enthusiastic about green energy, electric automobiles, efficient manufacturing systems, bio and nanotechnologies, ubiquitous computing, dense urban settlements, closed loop materials cycles and sustainable product designs. "One-planet living" is a frequently heard buzz-phrase.

Global Warming

Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution -- they produce 2.5 billion tons every year. Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually. Here's the good news: technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, modernize power plants and generate electricity from nonpolluting sources, and cut our electricity use through energy efficiency. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use.

Earth really getting hotter

Yes. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, average world temperatures could be 3 to 9 degrees higher by the end of the century.

Global warming making hurricanes worse

Global warming doesn't create hurricanes, but it does make them stronger and more dangerous. Because the ocean is getting warmer, tropical storms can pick up more energy and become more powerful. So global warming could turn, say, a category 3 storm into a much more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the destructive potential of hurricanes has greatly increased along with ocean temperature over the past 35 years.

Global warming pollution

It's simple: By reducing pollution from vehicles and power plants. Right away, we should put existing technologies for building cleaner cars and more modern electricity generators into widespread use. We can increase our reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and geothermal. And we can manufacture more efficient appliances and conserve energy.

Power plant pollution

Yes. First, we must use more efficient appliances and equipment in our homes and offices to reduce our electricity needs. We can also phase out the decades-old, coal-burning power plants that generate most of our electricity and replace them with cleaner plants. And we can increase our use of renewable energy sources such as wind and sun.

Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was set up in 1945 as a specialized agency of the UN. Its aims are to raise levels of nutrition, increase standards of living, improve agricultural productivity and to better the conditions of rural populations. The FAO recognizes the importance of biotechnology in achieving its aims, particularly in increasing productivity for food security. However, it also recognizes potential risks to humans, the environment and biodiversity from biotechnological applications.

The FAO administers many international treaties, of which the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) is just one.

The FAO has 188 member states (as of 29 November 2003) and the European Union is its only member organization.

What is Energy???

Can you imagine life without lights, fans, cars, computers and television, or of fetching water from the well and river? This is what life would have been like had man not discovered the uses of energy – both renewable and nonrenewable sources.....

"Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and runs machinery in factories. It warms and cools our homes, cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us pictures on television."

Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services. Energy conservation may result in increase of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and thus maximize profit.

Energy conservation is the reduction of quantity of energy used. Energy conservation supports the eco friendly lifestyle by providing energy, which saves your money and at the same time saves the earth. When you decrease the amount of energy you use you automatically make efforts to reduce increasing global warming.

Renewable Energy

"The term renewable energy generally refers to electricity supplied from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower and various forms of biomass. These energy sources are considered renewable sources because their fuel sources are continuously replenished."

- Key renewable energy sources:

o Hydropower, hydraulic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes

o Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. is becoming increasingly popular and production costs are dropping rapidly, making it increasingly competitive to fossil power production

o Solar power is by far the Earth's most available energy source, easily capable of providing many times the total current energy demand

o Biomass energy is the term used to describe the generation of energy from organic sources. The energy stored in plants can be captured for energy generation by several different methods such as decomposition, combustion or gasification

o Geothermal energy involves using the earth's heat to supply power. Geothermal heat pumps can be used nearly anywhere

- Advantages of Renewable Energy:

o We can use it repeatedly without depleting it

o Can help reserve fossil resources for future generations

o No contribution to global warming or greenhouse effects

o No polluting emissions

o Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced

o Saving on health and its costs

- Disadvantages:

o It is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to.

Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.